Survival instinct is our primal and most basic instinct! If we can’t keep ourselves alive, all our other needs won’t matter. Survival is the very foundation of life. Nature’s basal Self-Need instinct is our ubiquitous self-preservation inclination. Adler said, “the instinct of self-preservation is the life instinct.” (1923) According to Walsch, “the survival instinct is the strongest human instinct.” (2005) During portentous moments of imminent danger the dictates of a civilized society against hard and soft violence will quickly evaporate. In tempestuous times of immediate crisis, threat, and endangerment each one of us will viscerally defend ourselves to stay alive. In tumultuous times it is every man and woman for him and herself. I attest that when we face great fear we can become like a wild animal, and will instinctively do whatever it takes to survive. It is good to keep in mind that we evolved from violent animals, and under the right conditions all of us can revert back the violent animals from whence we came.
“Civilization is a jungle. As adults, we must learn to accept the fact that all life is essentially a struggle for survival.” (Presnall, 1959)